Low Profile Driver Type Golf Club Head

ABSTRACT

A driver type golf club head used to strike a golf ball on a tee or lying on the ground having outer dimensions forming a large footprint and a low profile configuration. The club head is further defined as having a breadth to vertical height ratio of at least 2 to 1, the breadth being measured between the striking face and rear surface and the height being measured between the top crown and the bottom sole. The structure and design of the club head also locates the center of gravity on a lower and more rearward location of the club head. The club head also includes a bounce area on the bottom sole behind the ball striking face that prevents the leading edge of the club head from digging into the ground when a golf ball lying on the ground is struck during a golf shot.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to golf clubs and in particular to drivertype wood or metal wood heads having an improved configuration and ballstriking performance.

Drivers and fairway woods have evolved over several centuries from solidwood construction to metals and carbon fiber. The greatest advancementsin golf driver designs, traditionally known as woods even when they aremade of non-wooden material, have occurred over the last 25 years.Contributing to the design changes is the use of new materials and moreinnovative manufacturing processes. As better understanding of club headengineering and advances in the custom fitting of golf equipment evolvedit has become evident to those in the field of driver design thatinnovation can occur not only with new materials and manufacturingprocesses but also through changes in the geometry of the club headitself.

The game of golf was originally played with a feathery ball and longnose woods. These woods were no longer adequate with the introduction ofthe Haskell ball in the 1880s that followed the feathery ball. The firstmajor changes to woods used to drive the golf ball from the teeingground followed with the introduction of the bulger driver head withtaller faces and a narrower dimension from heel to toe. These woods werea better design to strike the hard molded golf balls.

Since the introduction of the bulger driver few major geometry changesoccurred in driver type woods until the introduction of the first highlysuccessful metal woods in the 1970s. Although metal woods were produceddating back to the late 1800s, their popularity did not becomemainstream until PGA tour players started playing and winningtournaments with them.

The first generation of metal woods were investment cast stainless steelusing a pencil neck hosel and were slightly smaller than the standardwooden driver club heads of the time. Typically the metal wood driverhead had a volume of around 150 cc. These club heads were well suited todriving a golf ball from a tee. In addition they brought a novel aspectto the game since they were compact and manageable enough to be playedfrom a fairway lie by accomplished players. Several tour players useddriver type metal woods in place of traditional fairway 3 woods. Eventhough these metal woods were slightly smaller, they were more forgivingon off-center miss-hits than the corresponding solid wooden club headsbecause of the hollow, perimeter weighted design. The next advancementin the metal wood evolution took place as the head volume jumped fromaround 150 cc to 200 cc. This size increase was still more forgiving onoff-center impacts of the golf ball on the club face than the earliersmaller generation of metal woods. Although it was more difficult forlesser skilled players, accomplished golfers could still hit them fromthe fairway.

The introduction of titanium as a head material followed allowing theheads to be made even larger in the range of 260 cc and higher whilemaintaining the necessary weight to produce proper swing speed when theclub was swung to strike a golf ball. These club heads became widelyaccepted and titanium became the material of choice for nearly allmanufacturers that were producing premium golf clubs.

Engineering advancements persevered and the continued use of titaniumenabled the driver head size to grow at a much faster rate than wasexperienced with the previous generations of wooden and steel heads. Ata head size of 300 cc and larger, the phenomenon of vertical gear effectwas discovered as more and more golfers were using lower spinning,two-piece golf balls. The deeper center of gravity and taller strikingface were a perfect combination for the balls that were launched at ahigher angle and with less spin. In turn, most golfers were able toachieve longer driving distances using the new generation of titaniumclub heads.

However, unlike the first metal woods, one of the negative aspects ofthe jumbo titanium club head designs was the lack of versatility awayfrom the tee box to strike a golf ball sitting on the ground rather thanup on a tee. This essentially eliminated the dual function of thesmaller metal wood drivers that could be used both from the tee box andfrom the fairway, particularly by those having lesser skills.

Eventually the size of the club heads increased to 350 cc and beyond towell over 400 cc. It was realized by golf's ruling bodies, the USGA andR&A, that manufacturing required a size limitation for golf club headsand a limit of 460 cc was set as the maximum size allowable for playingthe game. Manufacturers followed this guideline and many club heads weresized at or near the 460 cc limit. As head sizes increased so did themoment of inertia, making the club heads more forgiving on off-centerimpacts on the club face. Gradually the “jumbo” sized club heads gainedacceptance and became the norm for driver type metal woods.

For the sake of reference, a jumbo driver head design is a head that isat least 400 cc and larger. The larger footprint of these jumbo driverheads caused the center of gravity to move more rearward away from theface allowing golfers to experience higher launch angles and longer ballflight than with the smaller club heads. These “jumbo” drivers also havea higher moment of inertia than previous generations of driver type golfclub heads. Because of the increased volume and the larger footprint ofthe head, the periphery and its center of gravity are both a greaterdistance from the face of the club head. The breadth dimension of ajumbo driver head, typically measured from the leading edge to the rearsurface, in particular, is at least 95 mm or greater.

With the size limitation of conforming drivers, new innovations in headshape appeared as club designers manipulated the head geometry tomaximize the moment of inertia while remaining under the 460 cc volumecap. Square shaped club heads improved the moment of inertia butresulted in cowbell type acoustics that were unpleasing to the golfer.Other non-traditional shapes appeared but without much contribution toincreased forgiveness. Eventually manufacturers continued to re-focus ontraditional shape heads.

In recent years manufacturers sought innovation in driver type clubheads without focus on geometry. Adjustable weighting and adjustablehosel technologies that controlled weight, loft, lie and club face angleare common in the current marketplace. Other attachments such asrotatable sole plates are used to affect the way the club sits on theground. Sliding weights are used to alter the center of gravity locationof the club head. With all these newer innovations the general geometryof the club head has remained essentially constant and unchanged.

To accommodate the many different attachments, the overall size of theclub head has been slightly reduced from the maximum 460 cc to a rangebetween 420 cc to 450 cc. With the additional adjustable weight and thereduced size of the club head, the moment of inertia has remainedessentially constant and these club heads are normally no easier to hitthan the slightly larger, jumbo footprint heads.

In addition to jumbo drivers, among the many geometry variations of golfclub heads well known in the art are those having a low profile, smallfootprint shape with a corresponding narrow striking face. This smallerclub head design is commonly used with fairway woods and metal woodsdesigned to hit a golf ball sitting on turf or similar grassy locations.It is also well known to use a variety of bottom sole configurationsthat interact with the ground surface to maintain club head stabilityduring the execution of a golf shot. Examples are disclosed in thefollowing:

U.S. Application No. 2009/0124410 to Rife shows a sole configuration fora conventional driver type golf club head having a forward bounce angleextending downwardly from the striking face and directly behind theleading edge and a secondary bounce at the rear portion of the bottomsole.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,447,405 to Chen shows a fairway wood type golf club headwith a concave bottom sole behind the leading edge and a ground engagingsection toward the rear of the club head.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,887,165 to Tsurumaki shows a golf club head with adeformable bottom sole section behind the leading edge.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,847 to Antonious discloses a metalwood type clubhead with expanded additions to the ball striking face and aerodynamicside surfaces.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,609 to Sheets et al shows a metal fairway wood witha concave bounce extended the whole length of the sole where the rearedge engages the ground.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Just as wood golf club head design advanced with the evolution of thegolf ball over a century ago, similar advancements in wood and metalwood head design have been necessary to optimize ball flight usingtoday's components, golf balls and fitting technologies. The presentinvention is a driver type golf club head that represents an improvementof the known prior art and provides additional flexibility and benefitsnot previously recognized particularly for the majority of golfershaving lesser skill than professionals and low handicap amateur golfers.

The present invention focuses on a new geometry for a driver type golfclub head having a low profile in combination with a large footprint toenable golfers with less skill to use the club to hit a golf ball off atee and to execute a more difficult shot with the driver when the golfball is lying on the ground or turf grass. For the purpose of thisinvention, a low profile club head is defined as a club head wherein thevertical height of the club head is less than half the breadth in a faceto rear edge direction and the footprint of a golf club is defined asthe projected area of the outer dimensions of the golf club head ontothe ground plane. A particular feature of the low profile, largefootprint club head is a new ratio of breadth to vertical height; thebreadth being defined as the distance from the leading edge at justbelow the striking face to the rear edge of the club head.

The golf club head also features a low and rearward center of gravityand a bounce sole that even further aids a less skilled golfer inhitting a golf ball off the ground while preventing the club head fromdigging into the ground during the execution of the golf shot.Statistics vary but it is generally known that no more than 10 percentof golfers can break 80 or 90 depending upon the particular data reliedupon. The driver structure of the present invention is designed forthese lesser skilled golfers.

The features of the club head geometry provide the same size footprintand breadth measurements, as well as conforming width measurements, as aconventional jumbo-sized, large footprint driver thereby giving theappearance from the golfer's view of a conventional larger jumbo typeclub head.

The overall geometry of the club head presents a low profile, verticalheight elevation and lower overall volume whereby the striking face isshallower and therefore thinner and lighter than the taller, muchthicker striking faces of conventional jumbo driver type club heads andsimilar to what is found on many fairway metal woods. This allows forsignificant discretionary weight to be shifted rearward and downwardthereby moving the center of gravity, CG, further behind the face andalso lower, near or below the vertical mid-point of the head. Preferablythe CG is rearward of the striking face of the club at least one thirdof the total distance of the breadth measurement between the leadingedge of the striking face and the rear surface of the club head.

Moving the center of gravity, CG, rearward increases the moment ofinertia yielding greater stability and longer ball flight. Moving the CGlower yields higher launch angles from lower lofts as well as optimizingthe vertical gear effect previously found only in the tall-faced jumbodrivers. Having a low CG allows the golfer to more easily hit a golfball off the turf without the use of a tee. This is a critical advantageof the present invention over the conventional tall-faced jumbo driverswith a higher center of gravity.

Since the vertical crown height is low, the overall volume of the clubhead of the present invention is between 160 cc and 200 cc less than itsjumbo counterparts. Thus the club head is approximately 260 cc in size,making this golf club head much easier to maneuver than the larger jumboclub heads. At the lesser size, the club head may be made of steelrather than titanium making it less expensive and more durable whilemeeting expected performance requirements.

In addition to the improved geometry of the upper portions of the clubhead, the present invention uses a forward bounce area on the sole ofthe club head just behind the ball striking face. This forward bounce onthe sole of the club head provides a ground control feature not foundwith conventional driver type golf club heads. When using the club todrive a golf ball from a tee, the tee height may be positioned lower tothe ground as one would do with a fairway wood club. During theexecution of the shot, the bounce sole of the present club head is ableto contact the turf as the head contacts the golf ball. The bounce areaprevents the club from digging into the turf while stabilizing rotationof the club face and regulating a consistent vertical ball impact areaon the face of the club head. Stated in other words, the bounce areamaintains the same vertical height of the club head for each swingthereby insuring a more consistent swing plane and a more repetitivestrike against the ball and launch angle of the golf ball for each golfswing.

Typically golfers with reduced skill levels swing a golf club in such away as to leave the club face open at impact resulting in golf shotsseverely slicing from the intended target line. Another performancebenefit of the bounce area on the sole of the club head is that thebounce dynamically squares the club head face due to ground contact.Therefore the lower the ball is placed on a tee, the more the bouncearea is able to maintain the club face at a more squared position. Thusfor golfers that lack the skill to consistently square the club face atimpact, the golf club of the present invention will automaticallyaccomplish a proper club face angle through the physical dynamics of theclub head as it contacts the ground surface.

The above features of the driver type golf club head are designed to hita golf ball from a tee as well as a golf ball lying on a grass or turfsurface. The golf club head combines the oversized, outer dimensions andfootprint of a conventional jumbo driver type golf club head with thetraditional low vertical height profile of a fairway wood in combinationwith a bounce on the bottom sole. The lower profile geometry allows forlower and rearward CG for higher, longer ball flight. The lower profiledesign reduces the overall volume of the club head making it moreaerodynamic by providing less air resistance during the golf swing thanconventional tall-faced jumbo driver type club heads.

Among the objects of the present invention is the provision of a drivertype golf club head capable of striking a golf ball from a tee or lyingon the ground.

Another object is the provision of a low profile driver golf club headwith the footprint and perimeter weight of a jumbo driver club head.

Still another object is the provision of a low profile driver type golfclub head having a bounce sole configuration to enhance the strike of agolf ball teed low or lying on the grass or ground surface.

A further object is the provision of a low profile driver type golf clubhead allowing for a thinner face and shallower sides reducing volume andallowing for optimum weight placement to produce improved ball flight.

A still further object is the provision of a low profile driver having alower and rearward center of gravity.

Another object is the provision of a more aero-dynamic driver-type golfclub that allows for greater maneuverability and faster swing speeds.

Another object is the provision of a low profile driver type golf clubhead that is less expensive to make and more affordable to the consumer.

These and other objects will be apparent with reference to the followingspecification and accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a toe side elevational view of the golf club head of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the golf club head of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the golf club head of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is front elevational view of the golf club head of FIG. 1 ascompared to a conventional jumbo-size driver head.

FIG. 5 is a toe side elevational view of the golf club head of FIG. 1 ascompared to a conventional jumbo-size driver head.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the golf club head of FIG. 1 as comparedthe same view of a conventional fairway metal head.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the golf club head of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is sectional view of a conventional jumbo-size driver head.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The driver type golf club head of the present invention includes acombination of a number of unique features that are defined as follows.A first significant feature of the club head is a large footprint thatis traditionally defined as the projected area of the outer dimensionsof the golf club head onto the ground plane. The large footprint of theclub head of the present invention is formed by outer dimensionsincluding an USGA measured width between the heel and the toe of theclub head of at least 95 mm and a breadth between the leading edge ofthe striking face and the rear surface of the club head also of at least95 mm.

Another significant feature is a low profile configuration of the clubhead. For the purposes of the present invention, a low profile driver isdefined as a club head having a breadth, as defined above, which is atleast twice the height of the club head measured from the top crown tothe bottom sole.

Still another feature of the club head of this invention is a low andrearward center of gravity, CG, location defined as being at or below avertical midline of the club head between the top crown and bottom soleand being rearward of the striking face at least one third of the totaldistance from the striking face to the rear surface of the club head.

Another feature of the golf club head is a bounce area defined as anarea behind the leading edge of the club face on the bottom soledisposed at a downward angle that engages the ground or turf surfacepreventing the leading edge from digging into the ground when contactinga golf ball during the execution of golf shots.

The above features of the driver type golf club head enable golfers withless skill to use the club to hit a golf ball not only off a tee as withconventional jumbo type club heads but also to enable a golfer toexecute more difficult shots with the driver such as when the golf ballis lying on the ground or a turf grass surface.

Referring to the drawings, a driver type, metal wood golf club head 100,defined by the above criteria, is shown that includes a ball strikingface 102, a top crown 104, heel 105, toe 106, side surfaces 107, rearsurface 108 and bottom sole 109 with a leading edge 110 at the interfaceof the striking face 102, a bottom sole 109 and a bounce area 114 on thebottom sole 109 behind the leading edge 110. In this embodiment the clubhead 100 further includes a hosel 112 for connection to a conventionalshaft and grip, not shown.

The club head 100 has a large footprint defined by a breadth B, as seenin FIG. 2, that is measured in a front to rear direction between theleading edge 110 of the striking face 102 and rear surface 108 and awidth W, also seen in FIG. 2, that is measured in a side to sidedirection between the heel 105 and toe 106 of the club head.

The golf club head 100 has a low profile whereby the height H betweenthe top crown 104 and the bottom sole 109 is equal to or less than halfthe breadth of the club head 100 between the leading edge 110 of thestriking face 102 and the rear surface 108.

FIGS. 1, 4, 5 and 7, showing front and side elevational views,illustrate the low profile configuration of the club head 100. The lowprofile design is particularly evident when compared to a conventional,jumbo type club head shown in dotted lines in the front elevational viewof FIG. 4 and the side elevational view of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 7, the low profile design allows the club head 100 tobe made with a thinner face 102 as well as shallower side surfaces 107and thicker with more weight at the lower rear portion of the bottomsole 109. See the sectional view of FIG. 7 as compared to a sectionalview of the prior art shown in FIG. 8. This relocation of significant,discretionary weight rearward and downward toward the rear and bottom ofthe sole 109 moves the center of gravity, CG, rearward and lower thanthe CG location of traditional golf club heads of this type.

As shown in FIG. 5, the CG is at or below a vertical mid-line, VM,between the bottom sole 109 and top crown 104 of the club head 100 ascompared to a higher, more forward location of the CG in a conventionalclub head shown in the dotted lines. The CG of the present club head 100is also located rearward of said ball striking face 102 at least onethird of the distance of the breadth measurement B between the leadingedge of the striking face 102 and rear surface 108 but preferably 40% ofthe distance from the face.

Moving the center of gravity, CG, rearward and downward, increases themoment of inertia thereby yielding greater stability and longer ballflight for a given strike of the golf ball. This lower CG also yieldshigher launch angles from lower lofted club heads as well as optimizingthe vertical gear effect previously found only in the tall-faced jumbodrivers resulting in higher, longer ball flight. Having a low CG alsoallows the golfer to more easily hit a golf ball off the turf withoutthe use of a tee. This is a critical advantage of the present inventionover the conventional tall-faced, jumbo drivers having a higher centerof gravity.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3, 5 and 7, the bounce area 114 of the club head100 is located on the bottom sole 109 immediately behind the leadingedge 110. The bounce area 114 is formed at a downward angle such thatthe rearward portion 115 of the bounce area 114 rests on the groundsupport surface and the rearward portion 116 of the bottom sole 109 isslightly raised above the ground surface. The bounce area 114 preventsthe leading edge 110 of the club head 100 from digging into the groundsurface when the golf ball lies on the turf and is struck by the clubhead 100 without the use of a tee.

When striking a golf ball lying on the ground or turf, the low profile,CG location and the bounce area of the present invention permits theclub head 100 to be used in place of a more lofted fairway wood or metalwood while achieving greater ball flight and distance. During thestrike, the bounce area 114 allows the bottom sole 109 to skim acrossthe ground surface as the face 102 strikes the ball rather than causingthe leading edge 110 to dig into the ground too far below the ballcreating a divot and a pop-up type of miss-hit. This action of thebounce area 114 assists the golfer by improving the consistency of theswing plane through impact with the golf ball over repeated use.

Because the vertical crown height is low, the overall volume is at least160 cc and as much as 200 cc less than its jumbo counterparts. Thus apreferable size of the club head 100 of the present invention isapproximately 260 cc in size, making this golf club head much easier tomaneuver than the larger jumbo club heads and permitting the club headto be made of steel rather than titanium making it less expensive andmore durable while meeting expected performance requirements.

All of the above described features of the club head 100 assist theaverage, less skilled golfer to reduce vertical miss-hits and that, inturn, leads to more consistent launch trajectories. This improvement inball flight leads to longer golf shots and more predictable shot makingand ultimately leading to lower scores.

In a preferred embodiment, the striking face 102 of the club head 100 ofthe present invention has a loft angle between 8 and 16 degrees,preferably a loft angle of 10.5 degrees. To be conforming to the currentrules of golf for golf clubs, the width of a club head must be equal toor greater than the breath. In the present invention, the width W, seenin FIG. 2, of the club head 100, is measured between the heel 105 andtoe 106 and is at least 95 mm but is preferably 115 mm. The breadth B,also seen in FIG. 2, of the club head 100 is measured in a front to reardirection between the leading edge 110 and rear surface 108 and is atleast 95 mm but is preferably 105 mm. As seen in FIG. 4, the height H ofthe club head 100 measured between the bottom sole 108 and the top crown104 is less than 55 mm but preferably 45 mm. Also seen in FIG. 4, thestriking face height HF, of the face 102, is equal to or less than 42 mmbut is preferably 38 mm. The bounce angle of the bounce area 114 isequal to or greater than 3 degrees, downward from the leading edge 110but is preferably 6 degrees.

The ratio of the breadth to height of a typical stainless steel driverclub head is 1.7 to 1 with a typical vertical height of 50 mm and atypical breadth of 85 mm. The ratio of the breadth to height of atraditional large footprint, oversized, jumbo, titanium driver is also1.7 to 1 with a typical vertical height of 65 mm and a breadth of 110mm. In like manner the ratio of the breadth to height of a typicalfairway metal wood is also about 1.7 to 1 with a vertical height of 45mm and a breadth of 75 to 80 mm. FIG. 6 illustrates a top plan view ofthe club head 100 of the present invention compared to a smallerconventional fairway metal wood, shown in the dotted lines, andillustrates the larger footprint configuration of the present invention.

In the present invention the breadth of the club head 100, as measuredfrom the leading edge 110 at the bottom of the striking face 102 to thetrailing edge of the rear surface 108, is relatively large and compareswith the breadth of the large footprint, jumbo oversized drivers and ismuch larger than conventional stainless steel drivers and fairway metalwoods. The ratio of the breadth to height of the club head 100 of thepresent invention is a minimum of 2 to 1. In the current preferredembodiment the ratio is 2.3 to 1, with a vertical height of 45 mm and abreadth of 105 mm.

Referring to FIG. 5, the center of gravity, CG, of the club head 100described above has a vertical location no greater than 28 mm above thebottom sole 109 and a preferred location at or below a vertical midlineVM between the bottom sole 109 and the top crown 104 of the club head100. The GC is also located at least a distance of 32 mm, or more,rearward from the face 102, with a preferred location being 42 mm behindthe face 102.

It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made to thegolf club head of the present invention in keeping with the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

1. A driver type golf club head including a top crown, heel, toe, sidesurfaces, bottom sole, rear surface, a ball striking face between saidtop crown and said bottom sole, and a leading edge at the interface ofsaid ball striking face and said bottom sole; said club head furthercharacterized by a large footprint outer dimension defined as aprojection of an outer periphery of said club head onto a ground planeand wherein said outer periphery has a breadth of at least 95 mmmeasured between said leading edge of said ball striking face and saidrear surface; and, said club head is further characterized as having alow profile defined by a breadth to vertical height ratio of at least 2to 1, said vertical height being measured between said top crown andsaid bottom sole.
 2. The driver type golf club head of claim 1 furtherdefined by having a width of at least 95 mm measured between said heeland said toe; and having a width to vertical height ratio of at least 2to
 1. 3. The driver type golf club head of claim 1 wherein said verticalheight between said top crown and said bottom sole is less than 55 mm.4. The driver type golf club head of claim 1 wherein the height of saidball striking face is a maximum of 42 mm.
 5. The driver type golf clubhead of claim 1 further characterized by a center of gravity located ator below a midline between said top crown and bottom sole of said clubhead.
 6. The driver type golf club head of claim 1 further characterizedby a center of gravity located rearward of said ball striking face atleast one third of the distance of the breadth measurement from theleading edge of said ball striking face toward said rear surface.
 7. Thedriver type golf club head of claim 5 further characterized by saidcenter of gravity located rearward of said ball striking face at leastone third of the distance of the breadth measurement from the leadingedge of the striking face toward the rear surface.
 8. The driver typegolf club head of claim 1 further characterized by a bounce area on saidbottom sole extending rearward from said ball striking face having adownward angle from said face of at least 3 degrees or greater.
 9. Adriver type golf club head having a large footprint outer dimension anda low profile height to width configuration including a top crown,bottom sole, heel, toe, side surfaces, rear surface, and ball strikingface wherein said club head is characterized by having a breadth toheight ratio of at least 2 to 1; the breadth being measured between saidstriking face and rear surface and the height being measured betweensaid top crown and said bottom sole; and, said club head furtherincluding a bounce area on said bottom sole extending rearward from saidball striking face.
 10. The driver type golf club head of claim 9wherein the breadth of said club head is at least 95 mm and the heightof said club head is less than 55 mm.
 11. The driver type golf club headof claim 9 wherein said bounce area has a downward angle from said ballstriking face at least 3 degrees or greater.
 12. A driver type golf clubhead including a top crown, bottom sole, heel, toe, side surfaces, rearsurface, ball striking face, and a leading edge at the interface of saidball striking face and said bottom sole; said club head characterized byhaving a breadth to vertical height ratio of at least 2 to 1, thebreadth being measured between said striking face and rear surface andthe height being measured between said top crown and said bottom sole;and, said club head further including a center of gravity located at orbelow a midline between said top crown and said bottom sole and locatedrearward from said ball striking face at least one third of the distanceof the breadth measurement from the leading edge of the striking facetoward the rear surface.
 13. The golf club of claim 12 further includingan angular bounce of at least 3 degrees or more extending downwardly andrearward from said ball striking face.